Disease in Africa

The child with the congenital lymphatic malformation and the child with the scars from previous local medical man treatment.

Tamale Teaching Hospital serves the two million people of northern Ghana. Because of poverty and cultural beliefs, our patients come to the hospital late in their illness after being treated by the local medicine man. Last week, a child in severe respiratory obstruction was brought in by her step-mother. The step-mother said the child lived with the grandmother and had been sick for two weeks. However, the healed scars on the child’s abdomen signified a longer course of disease. The child’s respiration was obstructed by viral laryngeal papilloma which were partially removed allowing the child to breath. Unfortunately, viral papilloma will return as there is currently no effective treatment other than periodical surgical removal when breathing becomes obstructed.

Children with congenital abnormalities here do not have surgery because there is no specialist to perform the procedure. We currently have a backload of otolaryngology-head and neck cases which need surgery. One patient is in his sixties and has been bothered all his life with a condition which he has had since birth. Yesterday, we removed such a congenital neck cystic lymphatic malformation in a two year old in a five-hour operation. The case went well except for injury to the eleventh cranial nerve which rotates the head and elevates the shoulder on that side.  Another method of treating this condition, which we did not have available, is to inject a sclerotic drug into the cyst. We do our best and are saddened by any complication. The families are appreciative and thankful that we are caring for them..